Presidential sheep!

Tired of election stuff? Here’s one more president-related thing… with sheep!

There were sheep that grazed on the White House lawn during Wilson’s administration. To cut groundskeeping costs during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson (1913-21) brought a flock of sheep to trim the White House grounds. Included in the flock was Old Ike, a tobacco-chewing ram.

Funny, eh? I wonder where the clipped wool ended up. I also wonder if, in addition to the calls for a vegetable garden on the White House lawn, we could get the Obama administration to bring back the sheep.

I think that’s a fab idea! Get the White House a bit more self sustaining. Imagine, they could auction off the fleeces to cover grain, shearing, vet costs….it would be cool to spin up white house fiber. Shall we start a petition?

It is a great idea. I’ll sign the petition. Over the summer here, we had herds of goats all over the city. The city brought them in to clear cut weeds and blackberry bushes from park and rides and along road ways. A friends neighbor hired them for a week to clear her backyard. The kids loved to take the goats for a walk down the street.

I remember reading about that a long time ago. It’s a small step, but it could help reduce our “dependence on foreign petroleum” — at least in theory. From what I’ve learned of peak oil and such, “victory gardens” would be helpful since it means that produce doesn’t have to be shipped — saving more gas.

As for the wool, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was spun into yarn and then given to the Red Cross production corps to knit into mufflers, hats, gloves, socks, etc. That’s when their “knit your bit” campaign originated.